The present invention is directed to a new class of 3,3-bisthioalkyl-2-pyridylacrylic acid derivatives, particularly the esters, which are useful as fungicides.
The control of phytopathogenic fungi is of great economic importance since fungal growth on plants or on parts of plants such as fruits, blossoms, foliage, stems, tubers, roots and the like not only inhibits production of a plant as well as commercially significant portions thereof, its foliage, fruit and seed, but, in addition, reduces the overall quality of the harvested crop.
To overcome or at least reduce the detrimental effects of fungi, plants have long been treated with fungicides. However, the enormous economic toll taken by identified fungi, as well as the development of new fungus strains resistant to known fungicides, establishes a continuing need to develop new and more effective fungicides which possess curative, preventative and systemic action to protect cultivated plants. These new fungicides must not only possess these protective properties, they must not possess properties which have an adverse effect on the plants to be protected.
2. Description of Related Art
U.S. Pat. No. 3,761,596 is directed to a class of fungicidal compositions containing malonic esters, including the commercial fungicide Isoprothiolane (di-isopropyl 1,3-dithiolane-2ylidenemalonate): ##STR2##
Compound (A) is for practical purposes a "one-species" fungicide, being effective at economic rates only against Pyricularia oryzae, the causative organism of rice blast. In contrast, the compounds of the present invention are active against a broad spectrum of Phytopathogenic organisms.